Tag: Trump ego

Four Pinocchios for Trump’s claim that he has ‘total authority’ over the states

Washington Post logo“When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.” <

— President Trump, at a White House news briefing, April 13, 2020

Steve Holland, Reuters: “There’s a debate over what authority you have to order the country reopened. What authority do you have on this one?”

Trump: “Well, I have the ultimate authority.”

— Exchange at the briefing

At a coronavirus news briefing Monday, Trump said he could order hunkered-down states to reopen their economies. He claimed to have the “ultimate authority” on such decisions and that his authority was “total.”

This will be a short fact check, because the president of the United States is not a king.

The Facts

After declaring independence from Britain and shaking off the yoke of King George III, the Founders of the United States adopted a system of government in which power would be split between the states and a centralized federal government. Continue reading.

How Trump’s reopening plans could collide with reality

Consumer and business behavior are mostly out of the president’s ability to control.

President Donald Trump is squabbling with governors and calling on a new council of corporate executives as he tries to reopen the American economy as quickly as possible. But his powers are limited not just by the Constitution but by the fact that he has limited sway over the real economy.

Trump can fire off tweets, attempt to bully states into lifting social restrictions and otherwise declare America open for business. But he can’t force companies to reopen or ramp up production until owners and executives believe their workers are ready.

He also can’t make consumers flock back to malls, bars, restaurants, sports arenas or other public areas until they feel comfortable they‘ll be safe from the coronavirus. Continue reading.

Trump wants to declare country open by May 1 — but the reality will be much slower

Washington Post logoPresident Trump has all but decided to begin declaring the country ready to get back to business on May 1, two current and two former senior administration officials said, but a scramble is underway inside the White House to determine how to stagger a reopening of the economy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic while also protecting Trump from any political fallout.

Impatient with the economic devastation wrought by social distancing and other mitigation measures — and fearful of the potential damage to his reelection chances — Trump has been adamant in private discussions with advisers about reopening the country next month.

Yet within Trump’s circle, officials say, there is acknowledgment that it will not be possible for the president to simply flip a switch. A return to normal likely would take many months, administration officials said, and should be orchestrated methodically and guided by medical data. For instance, officials are considering beginning with areas deemed to have the lowest risk of a major outbreak. Continue reading.

Trump’s Claim of Total Authority in Crisis Is Rejected Across Ideological Lines

New York Times logoTrading barbs with governors about their powers over when to ease restrictions on society, the president made an assertion that lacks a basis in the Constitution or federal law.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s claim that he wielded “total” authority in the pandemic crisis prompted rebellion not just from governors. Legal scholars across the ideological spectrum on Tuesday rejected his declaration that ultimately he, not state leaders, will decide when to risk lifting social distancing limits in order to reopen businesses.

“When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total,” Mr. Trump asserted at a raucous press briefingon Monday evening. “And that’s the way it’s got to be.”

But neither the Constitution nor any federal law bestows that power upon Mr. Trump, a range of legal scholars and government officials said. Continue reading.

HOUSE MEMBERS CHALLENGE GOP LAWMAKERS TO VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION THAT AFFIRMS PRESIDENTS DON’T HAVE ‘TOTAL AUTHORITY’

Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced legislation Tuesday offering a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s claim his “authority is total” during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing hours earlier.

New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski joined Minnesota Democrat Dean Phillips and Michigan Independent Justin Amash in filing the House Resolution that affirms the chamber’s members are in agreement “the president remains limited by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” The House resolution responds to Trump’s remarks Monday declaring he has “total” authority over state governors to reopen the economy when he decides to pull back on weeks of federal government social distancing guidelines. The president did not offer any details about how he plans to assert his power given the states’ rights restrictions present in the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

And in a challenge to the president’s most ardent Republican Party supporters in Congress, the House members on Tuesday introduced a single-sentence resolution reaffirming that Trump, or any future U.S. president, does not have total authority over the states. Malinowski remarked in a tweet: “I’m curious if anyone will object” to a resolution which simply affirms what’s written in the Constitution. Continue reading.

On The Trail: Governors rebuke Trump for claiming ‘total’ authority

The Hill logoA looming showdown between President Trump’s eagerness to revive a cratering economy and governors facing a deadly pandemic is leading to what could become the most contentious standoff between state and federal governments since the civil rights era.

For almost 250 years, the competing interests of states and the U.S. government have undergirded the most divisive debates in American history.

Now, as governors and the Trump administration grapple with the combined threats of a fast-moving outbreak that has already claimed tens of thousands of American lives and an economic catastrophe that has cost tens of millions of jobs, state leaders are increasingly at odds with President Trump over how to move through a rapidly evolving crisis. Continue reading.

In unprecedented move, Treasury orders Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks

Washington Post logoThe Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that could slow their delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said.

The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, “President Donald J. Trump” will appear on the left side of the payment.

It will be the first time a president’s name appears on an IRS disbursement, whether a routine refund or one of the handful of checks the government has issued to taxpayers in recent decades either to stimulate a down economy or share the dividends of a strong one. Continue reading.

Trump to halt WHO funding amid review

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Tuesday said his administration will halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) pending a review of the global body for what he described as its mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak.

Trump said at a White House briefing that the United States would suspend funding to the organization while officials conduct a review “to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”

The president criticized the WHO for opposing large-scale travel restrictions and accused it of failing to quickly vet and share accurate information on COVID-19. Continue reading.

Trump says his ‘authority is total.’ Constitutional experts have ‘no idea’ where he got that.

Washington Post logoWhen President Trump was asked during Monday’s news briefing what authority he has to reopen the country, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “I have the ultimate authority,” the president responded, cutting off the reporter who was speaking.

Trump later clarified his position further, telling reporters, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s got to be. … It’s total. The governors know that.”

The local leaders, Trump said, “can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.” Continue reading.

Investigative journalist reveals how ‘wannabe dictator’ Trump just asserted unlimited presidential power

AlterNet logoA pair of Donald Trump tweets Monday show beyond all doubt that he has no idea what’s in our Constitution and fashions himself a Sun King on the make, a wannabe dictator.

Trump asserted, wrongly, last July that thanks to our Constitution  “I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president.”

He has said that again and again as this video compilation shows. Continue reading.